Hey all, My father and I recently purchased an 02 Kawasaki Prairie 650 for him. We got it private sale from someone else. The machine is in great shape for its year. However there are some problems that we have found (and were told about prior.) The first is that the clutch cover had all of the bolts broken off in the bolt holes, no big deal. The second is that the speedometer seems to be malfunctioning while riding. When you turn the machine on and let it idle it will usually stay in the 0-5mph range while reading on dash. However when you ride the machine it will quickly jump up to about 75-86mph reading on the dash screen. The guy who sold us the machine said he thought it could be a stator issue? We dont exactly know why its doing it, its not a big issue that it wont read the speed as there are no speed limits on the trails in these areas, but I want to make sure that we are not going to lose the stator in the woods and have to walk back.
Overall i think we got this quad at a bargain price of only $750 with mud tires and a seat/storage rack on the back.

Thanks for looking and any input
Zack

 

Speedo issue - it sounds like the flimsy plastic speedo sensor got damaged/broken off and it is sending an erroneous signal to the igniter/meter. Check/replace it.

Clutch cover bolts - All broken off?! Wonder how that happened. Check inside the cover to make sure all is fine.

Get a factory sevice manual.
Don't assume anything and do the job right the first time.

 

The clutch cover bolts were broken off because the belt was in need of repair and when the guy who owned it previosly sent it to his friend he either used an impact wrench the wrong way, or the bolts were seriously corroded into the cover. The last few that were holding the clutch cover that were still in my father broke while trying to get them out. Currently we have drilled out the remaining bolts and have retapped them to a slightly larger size. From what i have read in other places, this seems to be somewhat a common issue with this model as the bolts that they used were all aluminum and had a tendancy to break off where the treads started. As far as the clutch, and the cover itself its all intact, no cracks in the plastic and no damage to the clutch itself. The belt is a little worn but can still be ridden. Where can i go to find the small plastic part that you are talking about?
As far as the shop manual we have that coming in the mail, the guy we bought it from said when he got it back from his friend it would be shipped to us.

 

1. Bolts - No aluminum bolts are used on Kawi quads. They are all steel. But the female thread side where the bolt goes in is aluminum, the right hand side crankcase. Corrosion forms between two different metals expecially severely if water gets in between when riding through water, washing, rain etc.

2. Speedo Sensor - Order one from Kawi quad dealer or look onlike like eBay (which I doubt).

3. CVT Belt/Converter - People keep calling it clutch but there is no clutch on the Kawi 650. It is a CVT system. You really need to measure the deflection of the belt to correctly judge whether it needs to be adjusted, replaced or left alone. All in the service manual.

 

same thing with my '02 prairie 400 4x4...got a new battery and it was fixed.